He Yi Sheng Xiao Mo / Silent Separation

Epilogue (Very Long)

When I was nine years old, brother Yi Chen, who lived next door, became my brother.

I was very happy and leaning in my mother's arm, I asked her: "Mum, is brother Yi Chen going to live in our house and not go back in the future?"

Mum hugged me and said: " Yes, does Yi Mei like it or not?"

"I like it." I nodded energetically to express my joy, but I didn't understand why my mother seemed so sad.

Having a brother such as Yi Chen was a very impressive thing, as the classmates would be envious and sometimes the teacher would treat you favorably. When I entered junior high school, the teacher looked at the attendance rollbook and asked me: "Do you know He Yi Chen?"

I nodded: "He is my brother."

"Oh, I taught him when he was in his first year in junior high school. I am rather fated with both of you siblings." The teacher chuckled, "Since the school's new term has just started, you will be the class monitor for the time being. The older brother was so competent, the sister should not be bad."

Gradually among the students, they knew that I am "He Yi Chen's" sister. Slowly, some female students began to make indirect, discreet inquiries: "He Yi Mei, did your brother mention any girls in front of you?"

"No." I always gave this reply.

"Oh, did you know that Yin Li Min from Class 3 likes your brother ......"

Girls of this age seemed to be particularly interested in this kind of thing of "who likes who." There were already several girls who told me "which girls like your brother." This kind of secret and every time the persons who liked my brother were different.

There seemed to be a lot of girls in school who really liked Yi Chen, but he seemed not to feel anything at all.

Once, when I asked him some questions, I pretended to casually ask: "Brother, do you have a girl you like? There are many girls in my class who like you."

"No." He replied, without a care in the world. Then, he lowered his head to concentrate on helping me to solve some questions, not even a bit curious as to which girls liked him.

That afternoon, I looked at his elegant and handsome profile, my heart suddenly felt a kind of happiness I could not understand.

When I finished high school, Yi Chen passed his university entrance exam for C University and went away to A City, which is very far away for me at that time.

I was not used to having one less person at home, suddenly it seemed empty. During dinner, my mother reflexively filled four bowls of rice, then remembered Yi Chen was not there and poured it back.

My heart felt unsettled and I vowed at the dinner table: "I also want to pass the university entrance exam to study in C University."

My dad started to laugh: "Good, Yi Mei is so ambitious."

But what was the use of just being ambitious? My grades were reasonably good but not good enough to be admitted to C University in spite of working hard for a year. In the end, when I filled in my aspiration, I applied for N University.

When Yi Chen found out on the phone that I applied for N University, he was startled and said, "Yi Mei, you can apply for a better university."

But none closer to you, I quietly thought in my heart.

However, when I attended university in September, I came to understand that God's plans supersede one's best laid plans: no matter how much one plans things out, life always intervenes. To my surprise, my faculty was located on the outskirt of the campus, about two hours drive from C University, which is in the city center.